The Enlightenment Driven Away
I highly recommend this clear-thinking article by Christopher Hitchens:
She's No Fundamentalist - What people get wrong about Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
There, Christopher Hitchens calls media pundits on the carpet for mis-characterizing Ayaan by calling her a "fundamentalist" and dismissing her views as "absolutist."
What was she thinking, that uppity woman, to shoot her mouth off about Islam? Doesn't she know we're all supposed to be towing (or toeing?) the politically correct party line? We can't afford to piss anyone off - shhhh! - they might bomb us.
Here are some great links & blog posts from the Zelda at Sleeping Ugly about Ayaan and what she's been going through in recent years. Zelda's first post in that grouping features a link to a clip of Bill Maher's show on which Ayaan makes minced meat of the empty-headed windbags on the panel, including Maher. Her elegant, directly stated observation is the ultimate soft answer which turns away wrath, and impossible to refute.
What I'm wondering is if Islam is the religion of peace, as so many of its clueless defenders in the self-loathing Western media claim (indeed, they are so Godless that they admire anyone who can muster fervent belief in anything -- with the exception, of course, of Christianity), then where are the men of Arab and/or Muslim origin who are standing up to this fundamentalism which nakedly aspires to dismantle Western civilization? Where are all these supposed Muslims who are opposed to fundamentalist agression? Either they are cowardly, or they do not exist.
Yet one mere woman dares to raise her voice in opposition to the culture of violence and oppression to which she was born. It's nice to know someone has the cojones to call a dog a dog, even if that someone is female-- someone has to be one of the first to scramble over the barricade.
Thank God for uppity women.
7 comments:
Good deal. We could use a million more like her.
Yes, indeed, Thank God for Women like her and all other former Muslim Women who dare to speak out about the inequities of their religion.
The Morning Snooze had a short piece on her Sunday that was more about her reaction to Theo Van Gogh's murder than her own life. Still illuminating, but left me wanting more.
Thanks for the links. As Big Dick said, I would fight and die for that woman. I am so afraid she is going to be killed.
Christopher Hitchens must feel like beating his head against a wall some days.
The shameless labelling of Aayan Hirsi Ali as an absolutist by supposedly enlightened Westerners is an abomination.
Love the Hitch. You ever go to his site and surf his stuff. The link is at my place. I bet she didn't get invited back too often on Maher's show. He's such a pussy. Bring in 3 or 4 liberals to berate one conservative and play to the crowd. Typical demagogic bullshit. Makes me glad I don't have HBO, because I'd end up watching just to get pissed.
I intend on getting her book. Phlegmie, if you do the same, perhaps we should have a book discussion on one of our blogs.
Just an fyi, I got her book. Lemme know if you get it, too, phlegmie:)
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